1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to printers, and more particularly, to a removable paper tray module used in a low-profile inkjet printer.
2. Related Art
Digital set-top boxes (e.g., cable television boxes, Internet terminal boxes etc.) are being used increasingly with consumer home entertainment equipment such as television sets, videocassette recorders, digital video disc (DVD) players and the like. In many cases, it is desirable for a user to obtain a hard copy of information displayed on the screen of their television sets. Specifically, users typically want to print e-mail messages, maps, recipes and information-rich content, such as still or captured scenes from live broadcasts, DVD players, movie cameras, video recorders etc.
Currently, if a user wants to have a hardcopy of the displayed information, the user has to use a conventional printer. Most conventional printers, however, are bulky, and thus require large amounts of space in users"" home entertainment units. Hence, a printer specifically designed for use in home entertainment units is needed (i.e., a living room printer).
The living room printer should be of low height (i.e., low profile) and relatively narrow in width to blend in with other home entertainment equipment. In addition, since home entertainment equipment is usually stacked one atop another in home entertainment units, user access to the living room printer should preferably be through a front plane of the printer similar to video cassette players.
Due to the low profile requirement of the living room printer, however, front plane user access may be very restricted. For example, many conventional inkjet print engines contain three primary components, which are generally organized in series. Some of these components include the platen and service station. The platen has a printing area where print media (i.e., paper) are printed upon. The service station includes a spittoon receptacle in which print drops are disposed to clear the nozzles. The service station also contains a wiper to wipe clean the printhead during use and a cap to prevent the printhead from drying out during periods of non-use.
The inkjet print engines, including printheads, are usually placed at the back plane of conventional inkjet printers. But, placing the print engine and printhead at the back plane of the living room printer will not allow for enough space for an input paper tray to hold input print media and an output paper tray to hold output (printed) media without violating either the low profile or the front panel user access requirement of the living room printer. Thus, what is needed is a printer that has the print engine and printhead placed on one side of the printer (i.e., placed orthogonally to the front plane of the printer), so that both the low profile and front plane user access requirements of the living room printer are met.
Additionally, conventional inkjet printers typically have the input and output paper trays completely independent of each other. That is, either tray can be removed and reinserted into the printer without the other being disturbed. The input and output trays of the living room printer should also be designed to be independent of each other. However, due to the low profile aspect of the living room printer, the space that would be made available by removing one of the trays might not be sufficient for clearing paper jams. Hence, to maximize the space available for user access, both trays have to be removed. As a convenience to the user, therefore, it would be desirable to allow both the input and output trays to be removed and reinserted simultaneously into the printer.
Consequently, what is needed is a printer having an orthogonally placed inkjet print engine and input and output trays capable to be removed and reinserted simultaneously.
To overcome the limitations of the systems and methods described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention is embodied in a low-profile, narrow-width printer having a removable paper module. The removable paper module contains both an input tray to hold input media and an output tray to hold printed media. The removable paper module is inserted into the printer via the front plane of the printer. To provide adequate space for clearing paper jams, the module is removed simultaneously by removing both the input and output trays. But, to load input media into the printer or to retrieve printed media from the printer, the respective tray can be singularly removed as in conventional printers.
To maintain the low profile requirement of the printer, the print engine mechanism, including printheads, is disposed orthogonally to the front plane of the printer. As a result, the input media and printed media are also disposed orthogonally into the printer thereby reducing the complexity of the print engine mechanism.
The present invention as well as a more complete understanding thereof will be made apparent from a study of the following detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.